Schedule

DEADLINE : 12:00 Noon, Friday, January 25, 2008
Graduate Fellowship Office, 314 Johnston Hall
East Bank Campus — in five sets of each nomination.

            RESULTS:                            Notification of offers to the DGS by early March

OFFER OUTCOMES:         DGS report of offer acceptances/declines due back
                                                                                                            at the Fellowship Office by Friday, April 18

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: The purpose of the Graduate School Fellowship (GSF) program is to assist directly in the recruitment of outstanding students to our PhD programs (and selected terminal master’s programs—see ‘Eligibility’ below) by providing the incentive of an academic-year merit-based fellowship, coupled with additional support by the nominating program. The Fellowship includes an academic-year stipend of $22,000, academic-year tuition at regular Graduate School rates for up to 14 graduate credits each semester, and subsidized health insurance through the graduate assistant plan for the academic year and for summer 2009. Fellows are responsible for all student fees or special charges, tuition beyond 14 credits, and tuition for any registration in non-Graduate School colleges.

At least two-thirds of the offers will be two-year awards, which will go to the top-ranked doctoral nominees. A small number of the highest-ranked of this set will be three-year awards. For maximum flexibility, two-year Fellows will be able to take the second year of the award in their second, third, or fourth year of graduate study; those who win three-year awards will be able to take their second and third years through the fifth year of graduate study. The remaining offers will be one-year awards.

ELIGIBILITY : Eligible nominees are those who have applied for 2008-09 admission by the deadline, and who will enter the University of Minnesota Graduate School for the first time in Fall 2008 in:
1) a PhD program; or
2) a terminal master’s degree program in a field where the faculty terminal degree is typically the master’s degree, such as the MFA degree in art or the MArch in architecture. The DGS nominating letter must make clear that this is the faculty terminal degree.

Doctoral programs may nominate a student who initially plans to seek a master’s degree, but the student’s goals/objectives statement must specify that s/he plans to continue on for the PhD immediately following completion of the master’s. The DGS must confirm this in the nominating letter.

By exception, the Fellowship Committee will also consider a nominee who previously earned a
U of M master’s degree, who at the time of nomination has been employed and away from campus for a minimum of a year after graduating, and is returning for the PhD in the same major. These nominees would come from fields of high workforce demand at the master’s level, such as engineering, education, or nursing.

Terms of Award: The award is tenable only in the major program that nominated the Fellow. Fellows will be expected to carry a full course load each semester and maintain a minimum 3.5 GPA. Fellows may hold a supplemental appointment of up to the value of a 25 percent graduate assistantship in the student’s department in each semester, and programs are encouraged to provide summer support in any amount. Programs may nominate students who would enter in Spring 2009, but any award would be for one semester only. Awards may not be deferred, nor may they be used to supplement other full-support awards.

Support beyond the Fellowship Year: The Graduate School views this fellowship program as a partnership with graduate programs in recruiting and supporting outstanding students. Therefore, programs must guarantee the Fellow’s support through degree completion, subject to satisfactory progress and performance. Priority for fellowship awards will go to programs that support all of the full-time students they admit through degree completion. [Programs seeking advice and technical assistance in this financial planning goal are urged to contact Associate Dean George Green at 625-4858.]

NOMINATING PROCEDURES: The number of nominations the program may submit is limited to the number of nominations assigned to the program in the November 2007 Graduate School Dean’s memo — minus the number that the program reserves for nominating to the Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship competition in March.

All forms required for nomination are available at: http://www.grad.umn.edu/fellowships/forms/

The GSF nomination must be completed online for each nominee. After submitting the forms (available after December 1, 2007) electronically, print and transmit five sets of the following materials for each nominee, with each set stapled in the upper left-hand corner, in this order (note the ‘s’ in ‘https’ in the web addresses below):

GSF Nomination Checklist (http://www.grad.umn.edu/fellowships/gsf/GSFCheckList2008.doc)
GSF Electronic Nomination Form ( https://www.grad.umn.edu/GradForms/GSF)
Director of Graduate Studies’ Nomination Evaluation Statement (http://www.grad.umn.edu/fellowships/gsf/GSFevaluation2008.doc) Do not transmit this statement in letter form.
GRE scores [obtainable from PeopleSoft], if applicable—do not use old scores, and do not list scores from more than one test
TOEFL scores [obtainable from PeopleSoft] or IELTS scores (paper copy), if applicable
Nominee’s narrative statement on goals/career objectives
Transcripts, including their interpretation pages, from each college/university attended (photocopies acceptable)
Three letters of recommendation—more than three will not be reviewed

Note should be made of any documents missing upon submission, with estimated forwarding date. Reviewers may not be able to consider nominations if crucial documents are delayed more than a few days.

Evaluation Statement from the DGS: This statement, critical to the nomination’s success, must be completed through the online form. Generally speaking, the evaluation statement should assist the Fellowship Committee in evaluating the file by describing the nominee’s relative strengths and fit with the program, explaining clearly why recruiting the nominee is important to the program. Facts already in the file for reviewers to see, such as the GPA or GRE scores, should not be re-stated without interpretation, nor should extensive verbatim quotes from letters be included. Also, because faculty reviewers come from across the University (who, to avoid conflict of interest, do not review files from their own areas), any jargon contained in the student’s goals statement and/or in the letters of recommendation should be interpreted. If nominating more than one, programs may rank-order the nominees, in which case they should describe the basis for the ranking (an individual nominee’s ranking vis à vis others would be included under ‘additional information’).
The statement, which must be completed using the online form, should include a description and/or interpretation of each of the following eight points:
The strength of the academic record, compared to other past and current prospective students.

The rigor and reputation of the undergraduate college and the major department. In the DGS’s opinion, how does the institution/department rate when compared to the top ten? (Do not assume Fellowship Committee reviewers are familiar with the college or with the reputation of the major field, even within a well-known college or university.)

Relevant research or other scholarly experience.

An interpretation of the student’s goals statement, if the statement is overly technical, so that it is understandable to persons outside the field. [Note: Most statements are written for admission to the program, not for consideration in an all-University fellowship competition.]

Analysis of all GRE scores (if applicable), described in the context of the program’s expectations. It is very important that DGSs make clear what emphasis the program places on test scores.

The “fit” within the program, and the identity of the likely faculty adviser, so that reviewers can judge whether a program’s strengths and the student’s interests are a good match.

A description of future financial support to be offered through degree completion. This section must describe how the program supports admitted full-time students, with a description of the specific support to degree completion that will be offered the successful nominee. Three- and two-year offers will be made only to those programs that guarantee such support to these top recipients.

A description of the nomination of any of the following, if relevant:

A student entering a special master’s degree (such as fine arts), with confirmation that the master’s degree is the faculty terminal degree—see ‘Eligibility;’ or
A student first entering a master’s in a doctoral program, with substantiation that the student plans to continue directly to the PhD—see ‘Eligibility;’ or,
A student who earlier earned a U of M master’s degree and is returning for the Ph.D. in the same major (see ‘Eligibility’); or
A student who is the program’s own undergraduate or current student (see section below).

Additional information to be considered, if relevant:
Unique Positive Factors — Logically, programs will nominate students who will contribute to the strategic goals of the program. The DGS’s statement should describe important aspects of a nominee’s record or interests not readily discernible from the application itself, and this could include elaboration and evaluation of any unique factors to be taken into account—e.g., creativity or musical performance skill for fine arts study, or some other talent or training essential to the discipline. Programs are also encouraged to nominate undergraduates who have participated in one of the various summer programs the University offers—e.g., UROP, honors programs, or REUs.

Potentially Negative Factors — Potentially negative factors in the file—e.g., fluctuating grades; unexplained gaps in the record; recommendation letters that are not credible; discrepancies or inconsistencies in credentials (diplomas, test scores, transcripts, etc.); lack of an undergraduate degree in the proposed graduate major; lower scores in some parts of the GRE that are unexplained; contradictory information about the level of English language skills; or, conflicting comments in different letters of recommendation — all should be dealt with in a forthright manner and not left unaddressed for reviewers’ speculation.
Nominees Who are the Program’s Current Students — Programs are advised against nominating their own undergraduates, especially those who would continue study under the same faculty. Instead, these students should be encouraged to broaden their educational experience by going elsewhere for graduate study. Some students’ interests may be best served by remaining at Minnesota, however, and these circumstances should be carefully explained. A similar explanation should be given for a nominee who is not the program’s undergraduate, but who has already taken graduate level or background coursework in the program without having been admitted to the Graduate School.
Nominees with Low Undergraduate GPAs — Most past successful nominees have had undergraduate GPAs well above 3.5, with the average for past successful nominees at about 3.8. Thus, programs should provide a careful defense for those with GPAs below 3.5. Nominees with undergraduate GPAs below 3.0 will normally not be considered.

Nominees with Degrees from non-U.S. Institutions — Academic records, letters of recommendation, and standardized test scores for nominees from U.S. institutions can be compared and judged with a high degree of confidence. With international nominations, on the other hand, it is more difficult for reviewers to establish a common basis for comparing non-U.S. degree nominees with graduates of U.S. institutions. Programs should not be discouraged from nominating candidates with non-U.S. degrees; however, the DGS must take the extra care necessary to present such nominations successfully. Specifically, the DGS must assist the Fellowship Committee in interpreting the file by elaborating fully on the program’s direct knowledge of the student (e.g., from visits or telephone calls), the institution, and the major program; the grading system; the identity and reputation of the letter writers; and so forth. Programs are advised not to nominate a student for whom thorough information is lacking. Finally, the program must be confident of the validity of all supporting documents, through corroborating information if necessary. Non-English transcripts that have been translated into English must be accompanied by the original-language documents.

Credential Authenticity — If there are any doubts or concerns about the authenticity of prospective nominees’ credentials such as diplomas, degrees, and transcripts or grade reports, do not hesitate to contact Graduate School Admissions Office staff member Andrew Lucas (tel: 612-625-9364), who can assist programs with authentication.

REVIEW/SELECTION CRITERIA : The review will be conducted by the Graduate School Fellowship Committee, composed of sixteen faculty from across the University. Each nomination will be independently reviewed and rated by four faculty members drawn from different disciplines. At least one of the four reviewers will come from the same broad disciplinary area, such as biology or social sciences, as the nomination. For example, a nomination from a physical sciences program might be reviewed by a four-member faculty panel from education, history, physics, and plant biology. Clearly, the nomination must be comprehensible to all individuals in this diverse a review panel — especially since all reviewers have an equal voice in the final decision. With fellowship funds extremely limited, the Committee will consider only outstanding nominees with solid academic credentials (and strong English skills, in the case of international nominees) whose programs present a compelling case for award.

Programs are advised that all aspects of the file are considered together, and no one factor alone, such as GREs, decides the outcome. The Committee will select recipients based on the strength of the following elements:

Nominee’s undergraduate academic record — in the context of the rigor and reputation of the undergraduate college and major (and the graduate record, if applicable);
Informativeness of the nominee’s goals/objectives statement;
Letters of recommendation;
Test scores (if relevant);
Nominee’s preparation for and fit with the program, including identity of adviser; and,
Overall effectiveness of the nominating program’s presentation, including a description of how students are supported through degree completion.

Graduate School Fellowship Office
314 Johnston Hall

University of Minnesota

telephone: 612-625-7579
e-mail: gsfellow@umn.edu